Vacuum actuating means for serial numbering and notching cards



Sept 1, 1942- v T. c. ANDREWS v 2,294,371

VACUUM ACUATING MEANS FOR SERIAL NUMBERING AND NOTCHING CARDS OriginalFiled Aug. 13, 1940 3 Sheets-Sheet l Sept-1, '1942; T. c. ANDREWS VACUUMACUATING MEANS FOR SERIAL NUMBERING AND NOTCHING CARDS 'Original FiledAug. 13, 1940 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 L Il I l L l INVENTOR. am Qmlmm) ATTORNEYSePtl, 1942 T. c. ANDREWS 2,294,371

VACUUM ACUATING MEANS FOR SERIAL NUMBERING AND NOTCHING CARDS OriginalFiled Aug. 13, 1940 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Koma/J) coge/MM /ENTOR.

Patented Sept. 1, 1942 UNiTE STATES lTFlNT @FICE VACUUM ACTUATING MEANSFOR SERIAL N UMBERING AND NOTCHING CARDS Thomas Coleman Andrews,Richmond, Va.

4 Claims.

My invention relates to that class of machines described in my Patent2,261,710 of Nov. 4, 1941, granted on my co-pending application, Ser.No. 352,456 filed Aug. 13, 1940, of which this application is adivision. Machines of the type described are designed to serially numbereach card as it passes through the machine and subsequently to notch theedge of the card with a pattern of notches to designate the card by thenumber printed thereon. This notching the edge of a card with a patternof notches referring to a single numerical classification is inaccordance with the well known Keysort system manufactured by the McBeeCompany of Athens, Ohio under the patents issued to Perkins, No.1,544,172 and No. 1,739,087. Cards of this type can be quickly andexpediently sorted into numerical or other sequence after they have beenindiscriminately mixed by the users. It is, however, of vital importancethat the notching be performed correctly so that it will correspond withthe number printed on the face of the card. When this notching isperformed manually by the user or even with a standard key punch, thehuman equation is more or less liable to allow errors to creep in.

My invention has for its principal object to provide a machine whichwill automatically print a desired number on a card and then punch apattern of notches in the edge of the card corresponding to the printednumber; as the two operations are synchronized the danger of errors isreduced to a minimum.

A further object of my invention is to provide a means actuated by avacuum to control the punches.

My means of accomplishing the foregoing objects may be more fullycomprehended by having reference to the accompanying drawings, which arehereunto annexed and are a part of this specification in which similarreference numerals refer to similar parts throughout.

Fig. 1 is a plan View showing the belt feed and gear train mechanismsfor operating my device;

Fig. 2 is an elevation of the structure shown in Fig, 1;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged and somewhat diagrammatic longitudinal sectiontaken along line 3 3 of Fig. 1 with the frame outline in broken lines;

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary detail view partly in section; and

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary plan view showing a control element for use withmy invention.

As shown in the drawings, my automatic numbering and notching machine isprovided with a casing having opposed side frames 25 and 22 which areheld in spaced relationship by two straps Zd and 26 attached thereto inany convenient manner. A suitable cover, not shown, may be provided forthe mechanism, in which case the cover can rest on a seat suitablyfashioned in the side frames and may be fastened thereto.

Operating power is furnished by an electric motor 2B, shown as supportedby shelf 3d under the machine, although if desired, it may be mountedelsewhere with respect to the operating mechanism. Conductors 3l aredepicted as leading to a switch 33 which is in turn connected to asource of current for supplying the motor.

It will be understood, of course, that other driving means may beemployed, if desired.

Feeding mechanism On one end of the shaft of the motor 23, I mount apulley 32 over which a belt 34 is trained for transmitting torque toanother pulley 36 secured to a feed driving shaft 38. The shaft 38carries several driving pulleys 40, which in cooperation with a similarnumber of idler pulleys 42 supported on a shaft 4:3 drive a like numberof narrow feeding belts 46. These belts ll constitute the carrying meansfor feeding cards 48 or other work to be printed and notched, to thevarious positions which they assume in their progress through themachine and delivering; them into a suitable container (not shown) whenthe work has been completed.

The belts 46 are made relatively narrow so that when one of the cards 68is brought to a position of rest for effecting a numbering or notchingoperation, the belts will slip beneath it, per-. mitting the card toremain stationary without. subjecting it or the belts to undue frictionor- Under some circumstances, it may befound that the pressure caused bythe printingf of the numbers on the cards or notching them, tends tointerfere with the continuous movement. In such cases, the belts maybe-v trained over and under idler rollers 5i) to reducefriction at thepoints of dwell and thereby permit. continuous rotation. As clearlyshown in Fig. 31 of the drawings, when such rollers are employed,A aportion of the die block adjacent to the belts' Wear.

of the belts.

must be cut away. Any two of the belts l5 will' provide sufficientfrictional engagement to carry the card or other work across thecut-away por-- tion, and accordingly the rollers and belts are soarranged that the desired results are achieved.

Interruption of the feed of the cards or other' work occurs at twopoints in the machine; one below the elements for printing the numbers',and the other below the punches for notching or kotherwise punching thecard with a representation corresponding to the number supplied by theprinting elements. The required interruptions may be effected by aneccentric drive such as that shown in the drawings wherein a shaft 52,suitably rotated, has an eccentric 54 secured thereto for cooperationwith a strap 56 carried by the end of an eccentric rod 58. The oppositeend of the rod 58 is provided with a pin 60, pivotally articulating itto a pair of levers 62 and 64. The levers are provided with pivots 66and 68 respectively, carried by the side frames; The opposite end of thelever 62 is pivotally connected by a pin 10 to a reciprocating stop '|2which operates in suitable guides 14 to project periodically above thesurface of the table '|.6 into the path of travel of the cards 48 toserve as a temporary abutment therefor, restraining them from furtherforward movement until the numbering operation has been completed. Asimilar stop T8 is arranged in a position to serve as a temporaryabutment for the cards during the punching operation. 'Ihis stop 18 ispivotally connected to one end of lever 54 by means of a pin 80, throughwhich the stop is periodically reciprocated in its guides 82 to projectabove the table I6 into the path of the cards or other work. After acard has received its printing number by the printing mechanism 84,continued rotation of the eccentric 54 will move the stop 12 downwardlyand out of the path of travel of the card, which will then be carriedforward into position below the punch or punches 85 for the notching ofthe card. By this time the eccentric will have revolved so as to bringthe stop 18 into the path of travel of the card, against which it willbe held until the notching operation has been performed, whereuponcontinued rotation of the eccentric will move the stop 78 downwardly outof the path of travel of the card which will then be carried on anddeposited in a pile or received by a suitable container. It will beclear that the twostops are thus synchronized to move upwardly anddownwardly in unison as the eccentric 54 is revolved. The movement ofthe stops is effected in timed relationship with respect to thenumbering mechanism 84 which is driven by a train of gears from themotor shaft 28. The motor shaft carries another pulley 81,

which drives through a chain or belt 88, a sprocket or pulley 98 carriedby a shaft 92. At one side of the frame, the shaft 92 carries a spur 94which through similar gears 96 and 98, drives the shaft of the printingand numbering mechanism 84.

The punching mechanism On the other side of the frame and secured to theshaft 92, a gear It is provided which meshes with a gear |02 mounted ona shaft |84 carrying a gear |06 as well. The gear |85 is arranged tomesh with a gear |08 which is secured to the eccentric shaft 52.

As clearly set forth in my Patent No. 2,211,310, a gang of punches 86will be provided, which in the case of Perkins cards of the typereferred to using the 7241 system of punching, will be cperated ingroups of one, two and three out of four for representing each digit. Asdepicted in Fig. 3 of the drawings, each punch 88 is supported from apunch lever by a pivot pin H2. The punches and their levers are normallymaintained out of the path of the work by coil springs |4 suspended fromthe frame by suitable hooks IIB. The lower ends of the springs areflexibly connected to the punch levers at their left ends as viewed inthe drawings, and it is necessary to overcome the bias of these springsto displace the punches into the path of the work for completing apunching operation. The punch levers are suitably pivoted, as by a rod||8 mounted in the frame. A punch lever guide |29, which may assume theform of a comb is also supported by the frame. The principal differencesof the present invention over that of my copending application reside inthe manner of selecting and actuating the punches to operate in theproper sequence.

The invention herein described contemplates control of the punches by apreformed pattern produced on or in a web of material. The punchesthemselves and their operating levers are essentially like thosedescribed in my said Patent No. 2,211,310. In this case, however, thepunches and their levers are actuated by means of a vacuum which atpredetermined intervals acts upon a piston mounted in a cylinder |60.The extension |22 of the lever ||l is coupled by a suitable clip |52 andpivot |54 to a rod |56 carrying a piston |58. The piston is reciprocatedin the cylinder |60, the upper end of which is connected by a fluid line|62 with a port |54 whose communication with a manifold |66 iscontrolled by the preperforated web |68. The web is wound upon a coreIl!! carried by the shaft 92 which is synchronized with the feed andnumbering mechanisms. The web is unwound from a core |12 which ismounted upon a spindle |14. The piston is biased toward its lowerposition as shown in the drawings by a coil spring |16. When the pistonis drawn upwardly it deiiects the lever and displaces the punch into thepath of the work. An aperture in the cylinder casing permits the systemto breathe.

The manner in which the control web or relay web may be perforated isillustrated in Fig. 5 of the drawings. The lowermost perforation showncontrols the connection between the manifold and the uid line to thepiston for actuating the l punch. The next perforation controls the 2mechanism. The following two perforations control the l and 2 punchmechanism, andso on. The reels for the pattern web are shown more orless diagrammatically, since it must be remembered that somecompensation is necessary for the increasing the diameter of the web asit winds about the core |18. .Suitable provision may be made byinterposing feed rollers to render uniform the speed of the web passingthe manifold; or the speed of the shaft 92 may be graduated to suit theincreasing diameter; or the spacing of the perforations in the webitself may be varied to the same effect.

The manifold |65 is connected by suitable pipe connection |8| to avacuum pump |82 which may be driven by a standard motor |83, through themedium of a shaft |84.

In operation, it will be understood that the printing mechanism will beone number ahead of the punching mechanism where a card is to receivecorresponding representations from both mechanisms. This is true becausethe work is printed and punched in separate, sequential steps.

Having described my invention, what I regard as new and desire to secureby Letters Patent is:

1. In a machine of the class described which notches a notch-receivingmeans, means to feed said notch-receiving means, means to stop saidnotch receiving means periodically, a plurality of notching punches,means to hold said punches normally out of the path of the notchreceiving means, punch control means Which actuate said punches, meansto actuate said punches selectively, a vacuum control in each of saidpunch control means, means operated by a vacuum to actuate said punches,and sliding means to open and close ports leading to said Vacuumactuated means.

2. In a machine of the class described which edge notches cards havingmeans to feed said cards; a pair of stops operated simultaneously tostop the cards periodically, a plurality of edge notching punches, meansto hold said punches normally out of the path of the work, punch controlmeans for producing a displacement of said punches from normal positionto a position intersecting the path of the Work, means to actuate eachpunch, a Vacuum control for each of said punch control means, meansoperated by a Vacuum to actuate said punches, and sliding means to openand close ports leading to said vacuum actuated means in timed relationwith the Workfeeding means.

3. In a machine of the class described which edge notches cards havingmeans to feed said cards; a pair of stops operated simultaneously tostop the cards periodically, a plurality of edge notching punches, meansto hold said punches normally out of the path of the Work, punch controlmeans for producing displacement of said punches from normal position toa position intersecting the path of said Work, means operated by avacuum to actuate said actuating means, valve means actuated in timedrelation With respect to said Work feeding means for controlling saidVacuum operated means, a vacuum pump, a motor to drive said pump, andsuitable pipe connections to connect said pump to said Vacuum controlmeans'.

4. In a machine of the class described which edge notches cards havingmeans to feed said cards; a pair of stops operated simultaneously tostop the cards periodically, a, plurality of edge notching punches,means to hold said punches normally out of the path of the Work, punchcontrol means for producing displacement of said punches from theirnormal position to a position intersecting the path of said Work, aresilient floating direct acting punch carrying lever for each punch toactuate said punch control, an eX- tension on said lever, a cylinder, apiston therein, a piston rod, one end of which is connected to saidpiston and the other end being pivotally connected to said extension,and means to open and close a port to exhaust the air in said cylinder.

THOMAS COLEMAN ANDREWS.

CERTIFI GATE OF CORRECTI ON Patent No. 2,'29Lh571. september 1, 19m.

THOMAS COLEMAN MIDREWS.v

It is hereby certifiedv that error appears in the printed specificationof the above numbered patent requiring correction as follows: Page 2,first column, line 68, for "the '7214.1' system" read --the "7h21"system-f; and that the said Letters Patent should be read with thiscorrection therein that the same may conform to the record ofthe case inthe Patent Office.

v Signed and sealed this 20th day of October, A. D. 19LL2.

Henry VanvvArsdale, (,Seal) Acting; Commissioner of Patents.

